"SHARK!!" yelled Xander at the top of his lungs! "SHARK!!" Willow screamed to add
emphasis to this, and hysteria set in. People ran up and down the beach, not knowing where to
go, others stared out into the sea, pointing at blobs which could be sharks, but most people ran
into the beach hut.
"Xander!" Willow shouted, over the commotion. "They'll be easy pickin's if they're all crowded
together in there! What do we do!"
"That's where it's safest, Will, so I want you to go in there too."
"But what about you?"
"I've gotta find Buffy. I know it's dangerous, but I can't leave her alone like that."
"What, like I did?" asked Willow, offended by his last remark.
"Just get inside!" Xander gently pushed her into the doorway, and encouraged the last stragglers
in. "C'mon people! Shark - big scary thing, teeth, fin; bad, very bad!" As the last of the party-
goers entered the hut, Xander Lavelle Harris, bravely swung the doors closed, and slid the big
bold across. "A real man at last," he thought.
Inside the beach house, Willow placed her ear to the doors and listened out for Xander. She
couldn't hear much at all. He was probably building himself up for any vampire confrontations he
might have along the way. Willow smiled at this thought, and turned to face the party.
* * *
Angel scooped Buffy up into his arms and began to run. He had to take her back to her friends
who would know what to do. Buffy now wore Angel's black jacket over her soaked, white
dress, as she was constantly shivering. She still looked perfect to Angel, though. She wouldn't
look that way for long if he didn't do something fast. She opened her eyes, catching Angel by
surprise.
"Conscious again, are we?" he asked, smiling. Buffy nodded, painfully.
"I need to walk myself, Angel. I've got an appointment with Spike and his minions in about ten
minutes, and I've gotta make sure I've enough energy." Angel softly dropped her to the floor.
She staggered a little at first, but was able to walk at a sufficient pace, soon enough. Angel kept
her propped up, by winding her arm around his shoulders to take some of her weight away, and
she smiled up at him gratefully.
* * *
Willow pressed her face against the doors of the beach hut, and peered through a crack. Xander
still stood outside, talking to himself - trying to build up his confidence to face the vampires.
Willow was worried. He was an easy target outside, all alone like that. Reluctantly, Willow slid
the huge bolt across the two wooden doors, as Xander had instructed beforehand, and
grimaced uneasily. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Besides, the
party goers were becoming restless indoors, and the shark theory wouldn't hold out for very
long. Willow bit her lip anxiously, and turned to face crowd in front of her. Would she be able to
keep all of them, in? A low growling sound roused her from her thoughts. The sound seemed
familiar. Across the room, Cordelia seemed to have recognised it too. She glanced over at
Willow with a look of concern pasted onto her face. Willow returned the stare, and then looked
down at her bare feet; ears pricked.
"HELP ME! NO!" Willow gasped as she heard screaming. Looking up, she realised that
Cordelia wasn't in her seat anymore. In fact, Willow couldn't see her anywhere, as the crowd
began to surge towards the only doors, behind her.
"Could I have the attention of the room, please?" simpered Spike through the speakers in the
room. The crowd turned in the direction of his voice. He was on the stage. With vampires. Lots
of them. And Cordelia. Spike had her hugged against his chest, so that she faced out into his
audience. She struggled for a moment, but a quick squeeze from Spike made her stop,
immediately.
"Wait a minute!" shouted a voice from the crowd. "Who are you guys?" It was Dan Miller, the
party's host. He pushed his way through to the front of the crowd, and leapt upon the stage. He
turned to face Spike. "That's my girl you got there," he hissed.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" said Spike. Freeing one hand, he swept it up into the air, and brought it down
hard on Dan Miller's cheek. Dan fell backwards into the crowd, his neck snapped to one side,
and blood streaming from his mouth. Cordelia wailed hysterically, and tears began to fall down
her cheeks. Spike was pleased. He at last had the attention of the whole room.
"The party's over for you," he whispered, into his microphone. "But for us," he paused for effect.
"It's just beginning!" The vampires laughed, and their game faces swam to the surface. Cordelia
screamed again, and the crowd ran to the back of the room. Willow winced, as she found
herself squashed against a window. Outside, she saw Xander gazing in at her with a horrified
expression on his face. He ran up to the glass, and pressed his hands against hers.
"What's goin' on, Will?" She looked at him dazedly for a second, before passing out onto the
floor. Xander hammered at the window, but couldn't get in. He could hear hands scrabbling at
the door to be let out, but he was powerless to help; he was on the outside. All he could do was
watch...
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